On Saturday evening, local authorities banned away fans from the second-tier match between Vitesse and De Graafschap, with Arnhem mayor Ahmed Marcouch saying De Graafschap fans weren't following the safety measures.
After De Graafschap fans misbehaved during the last meeting between the two teams in Arnhem, only 500 away fans were allowed to attend Sunday's match under specific conditions. One of these conditions was that materials used in the fans' tifos had to be inspected before the supporters arrived.
The club said that it'd proposed several options to meet these conditions, but "information from the police and discussions with De Graafschap indicate that some supporters are determined to bring in supporters’ items in a manner that contravenes the agreements made. The club has stated that it is unable to persuade these supporters to change their minds and cannot guarantee compliance with the agreements."
Locked gate
De Graafschap fans responded by blocking the team bus in the parking lot of the club's stadium, Stadion De Vijverberg. The large group of fans wouldn't let the bus leave for the away game in Arnhem, about 30 minutes from Doetinchem, and locked the stadium gates with chain locks.
At 12.15, when the game was planned to kick off, the Dutch football federation (KNVB) announced that the game was officially called off.
"It is unacceptable that the Vitesse-De Graafschap match cannot go ahead in this way. It is utterly unacceptable that supporters are making it impossible to play football. In doing so, they are harming their club, their team, the sport and the thousands of supporters who do come to watch the football," the KNVB said in a statement.
De Graafschap said that the club were "negatively surprised and shocked by today's events" and would publish a full statement later on the day, while Vitesse CEO Willem van der Linden called it a "massive disappointment."
"A wonderful Gelderland derby between two regional clubs, in a packed stadium, could not go ahead today," Van der Linden's statement read. The director emphasised that it would not change the conditions of the to-be-played match.
"We understand that there are many questions. At present, it is not yet clear when the match will be rescheduled. What we do know is that the intention is for this match to take place under the same conditions. This means: with Vitesse supporters present and without away supporters. We will keep every Vitesse supporter and all those involved informed of further developments."
KNVB Competitions Manager Jan Bluyssen told NOS that the game will be played on a working day and before the end of the second period, so before the end of the calendar year.
"People are entitled to agree or disagree with something, but this really goes far too far. We need to put a stop to this. We’ve seen a lot of crazy things in the past, but this is mad," Bluyssen said.
Paul Winters is Flashscore's Netherlands country manager, having previously worked for Flashscore's Netherlands desk. Paul is an expert on the Eredivisie and also specialises in the NFL, as well as a plethora of other sports. Residing in 'sunny' Katwijk, you can follow all of the news from the Netherlands here.
You can find Paul on X and LinkedIn.
